Complex Wells Support

Complex Wells Support

Salos have been supporting a variety of clients with complex wells from providing front end support through to coaching and training at the well site. This has seen our teams being deployed across the Americas, Asia, West Africa and the North Sea. 

One client, a Global Supermajor, had a well in a mature field which was prone to severe losses in the reservoir section.  To mitigate the losses, a technique called Hydrostatic Packer was to be utilised.  This technique is counter-intuitive to the way drilling crews deal with a possible / actual well control condition.  The client therefore wanted to test the technique on a simulator to qualify the validity of the steps in the program – a stress test of the plan so to speak.

Secondary was that they wanted the crews to be ready & practiced in the mitigations involved in applying the Hydrostatic Packer technique.  Nine simulator exercises & 20 training modules were created for the teams.

Salos supported the project in four distinct phases.
- First was to test the program steps & evaluate how the exercise would look visually – the crews would need to be able to view what was happening in the well & be tested on their understanding.
- Parallel to this, the Extended reach drilling (ERD) procedures were updated & renewed with latest best practices.
- Thirdly, the simulator was then taken into the client office to train & coaching the rigsite frontline supervisors, as well as the Wells’ operations’ team members.
- Lastly the simulator was then sent offshore for coaching & assessments of the drilling crews in in preparation for drilling the challenging section.